


The New Roommate

by the_space_in_my_head



Category: Fifth Harmony (Band)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-19
Updated: 2017-10-19
Packaged: 2019-01-20 01:33:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12422277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_space_in_my_head/pseuds/the_space_in_my_head
Summary: It's their sophomore year of college and Normani, Camila and Dinah are a tight-knit trio; impossibly close and very hard to permeate. Normani the closed off, focused realist, Dinah, the boisterous but judgmental partier, and Camila the sensitive but unimpressed pessimist all nurture ghosts and demons of the past. And they all have their walls put up. What happens when a green-eyed oddball wriggles her way into their lives?





	The New Roommate

Normani Kordei, 19-year-old NYU Law Student, part-time model and full time badass bitch, was intelligent in many fields of life. She could argue a mock-trial with the utter precision and articulacy needed to leave her fellow students' eyes nervously twitching across their notes and tongues tangling in knots of inadequacy. She was an expert in the task of extracting herself from conversations with a senior college boys whose eyes appeared weighted to her breasts, and when it came to finding low budget clothes and making them look hot-she was impeccable. In fact, some may say that  _style_ , from how she held herself to the clothes she held herself  _in,_ was very important to Normani Kordei. And it was for this very reason that currently watching her best friend trot towards her beaten Navy Honda had her gripping the steering wheel tight as a very physical cringe enveloped her body. Camila was sporting a very putridly bright, and very ugly yellow t-shirt. Now Normani was blinded by the colour alone, a colour that she'd tried to tell Camila shouldn't be touched with a barge pole out of the summer months, and even then, only really by gorgeous black women like herself. But it was the horrific print on the t-shirt that had Normani preying no one would see her associating with Camila that morning. 'Bee Happy' with a grinning Bee stared her in the eyes as Camila reached her car, pulling open the passenger door. 

"Morning Mani." She sleepily croaked, looking very much like she had woken up 10 minutes ago.

Normani didn't answer, too busy searching through her school bag for her sunglasses. Camila huffed, reaching to turn on the radio. "Why thank you Mani, I  _am_ doing pleasantly this morning."

"Ahah! Phew, I was getting stressed for a moment there." Retrieving the big lensed sunglasses, Normani put them over her eyes with a sigh of relief.

Camila eyed her, a scrunch of confusion overtaking her sleepy features. "It's cloudy today." 

Starting the car, Normani pulled away, but not before casting a furtive glance around the street. "Correct. But I wish to retain my eyesight for another day. And  _you_ are so so bright."

Camila laughed. "This t-shirt?"

"What else? I can only assume you must have been unfortunately possessed by the ghost of Mr hippy who overdosed in that creepy apartment of yours a couple years ago."

"You really shouldn't speak ill of the dead Mani. Plus, i'm  _obviously_ wearing this t-shirt ironically. I'm the most sarcastic person you know."

Normani sighed impatiently. 'Listen Camila Cahipster, you look exactly like the type of person to wear that kind of t-shirt."

In response, Camila flicked her the middle finger, and spent the remainder of the drive up to campus staring indignantly out of the window as Ed Sheeran crooned out of the speakers. Mani had no regrets, but to be nice she didn't change the radio station to an R&B one.

Seven minutes later, Mani expertly reversed the car into a space- another thing she was good at; parking. Camila reached to unbuckle her seatbelt and Mani was about to do the same when she hesitated, glancing out the window.

"Uh, you know Mila, it looks kinda chilly out there..."

She turned her around to meet Camila's narrowed, pointed look. "And it  _is_ October, wouldn't want you catching a cold-"

"I'll put a damn jacket on!" Camila angrily rooted through her rucksack, pulling out a slightly creased, grey zip-up hoodie. She shoved her arms not so gracefully into it and zipped it up, promptly ignoring Mani's exhalation of relief as the yellow was obscured. Normani couldn't even bring herself to care when Mila slammed the car door and started up to school, knowing she'd win her round again by buying her a coffee from the stand. That was why she was so short tempered anyway. Nothing to do with Mani at all.

Camila would appreciate her help one day.

***

Camila and Dinah both took music at college. For Camila, music was her passion. She loved writing it, reading it, learning it. Playing an instrument and singing was the only time she could really bear herself. Most of the time she knew she was a negative little shit who was very difficult to please- she was twitchy, anxious, quick to dismiss things and still shedding her self conscious skin that she'd grown at the age of eleven when she began middle school and found people cared about things like popularity. Music detached her from awareness of herself in the best way possible, it soothed her nervous fingers and flitting mind, and filled her with a confidence that she was actually  _good_ at something. For Dinah, she just loved to goddamn sing. She had the lungs to go with it, and Camila was jealous of the ease in which Dinah would tackle any manner of song with a voice that held both breathtaking strength but also the kind of melodic softness that made you want to look for her angel wings. If Dinah wasn't singing, something was wrong. 

An aspect Dinah somehow hadn't factored into taking a music degree was essays on music history. When the first one had been set she'd looked at the question with the upmost offence, picking up the paper and squinting at it as if the words might change to "Everyone but Dinah must write this essay" if she looked hard enough. "If I wanted to take a damn essay subject, I'd have taken goddamn English Literature! Libraries give me allergies." She moaned. She remained seriously affronted for the rest of that day until unable to take any more of her whinging- seriously Dinah was supposed to be the upbeat one!- Camila had promised to help her with the essay. Inevitably, she'd ended up practically writing the entire 2000 words, and every single other essay of Dinah's for the duration of their freshman year.

This year, Camila had put her Converse cladded foot down. Dinah was going to have to write her own essays.

While standing her moral high ground was all good and well, right now anxiety was slowly building up inside Camila as she frantically searched through her folder for her essay. The one she'd done ahead of time on _Friday_ , and left in there over the weekend ready for _Monday's_ lecture. As in today. Right now. People were filing to the front and grudgingly handing there's in to the enthusiastic professor, or standing awkwardly to the side undoubtedly ready to the spurt some excuse as to why they hadn't done it. 

" _Shit."_ She hissed, about to bend down and search through the cluster fuck that was her rucksack for it when Dinah nudged her arm. "What you tripping for girl? It's right there in front of you." She pointed to the stapled essay that had definitely  _not_ , to Camila's understanding, been there moments ago. 

But there it was. Sitting arrogantly as Camila stared at it, gobsmacked. "I- what? Did I take it out already?" She turned questioningly to Dinah who shrugged. 

"Must have." She replied lightly. "Maybe at the start of the lecture and you forgot?" 

"Huh." Camila couldn't recall that but decided that out of all the peculiarities in life, finding her essay was one she wasn't going to question. "Whatever. You wan't me to spell check yours quick before we give them in?" She offered, smiling at her friend who suddenly looked at little jittery.

"Nah, I actually want to get out of this room before I hit a hundred." Dinah made to stand up, but Camila, who had always been good at interpreting others' shifts in emotion, was suspicious.

"You sure? Not even a quick scan? You know how you are with spelling, and after all, this is the first one you've written entirely on your own- wouldn't want the quality to drop too much." She teased, but remained conscious of Dinah's expression.

"Yeah, yeah. Careful your head doesn't get too big for that gangly body of yours." Dinah made to hit Camila round the head with her own essay, but Camila nimbly ducked the swipe, instead snatching the paper from Dinah's hand. 

"What the hell?! Give that back you lanky ass book worm!" 

Camila ignored her, turning her body away and sheltering the paper from Dinah's hands. "Oo I'm quivering," She muttered in response, eyes already scanning over Dinah's typed writing. She felt rather than saw Dinah wait in what appeared to be nervous apprehension, and it wasn't long before she realised why.

Gasping, she swung back round to face an already guilty looking Dinah. "This...you..I can't believe- this is practically  _my_ essay, just reworded! When, no  _how_ did you do this?!"

Dinah crossed her arms in defence. "You are totally exaggerating. I used completely different examples to you, see.." She tried to point out a paragraph but Camila pulled the paper out of her reach, still mad as ever. Dinah huffed. " _God,_ talk about dramatic! Fine I took the damn paper from your folder on Friday, okay? But you can't blame me! You cut me off! Nada! Like a heroine addict gone cold turkey! I was desperate!" She grasped melodramatically at the front of Camila's hoodie. Camila opened her mouth to give her a piece of her mind when she was cut off.

"Girls?" Professor Clifford was looking at them curiously from the front of the room. All other students had since vacated the premises and it was unusual for students to willingly hang back. "Do you have your essays?"

Camila let out a frustrated sigh, but smiled at the professor. She did like him. "Yeah, sorry, we got distracted." The professor nodded amiably. There was nothing to do about the situation now. She none to gently thrust the paper back into Dinah's grateful hands, slung her backpack over her slender shoulders, and took off to the front of the room, handing her paper in with a weary smile. 

"Have a good day professor."

Dinah caught up with her quickly as she stalked out the room. "Really Camila it wasn't that similar. It was more so the intro just because you know how much I struggle with getting started..." She flashed dark brown puppy eyes at Camila who already found her anger waning. The truth was, she was frustrated that Dinah didn't get just how much work she put into those essays. She wanted to stand out, to impress the professor! But holding onto grudges at one of the only two people who she felt comfortable with was not going to help her in the long run.

"I'm still annoyed but whatever. Let's go get some lunch." Dinah's shoulders sagged in relief and she grinned. "Love you Mila. Hey let's talk about something more interesting, liiiike the fact my new roommate is moving in today!"

Ah yes, Camila thought curiously. I wonder if she'll fit in with the rest of them?

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo... college fifth harmony. Tell me if you like. Any guesses on the new roommate? lol.


End file.
